Mobile router with serial device interface

ABSTRACT

A mobile router having a serial interface is disclosed. According to various embodiments, the mobile router may comprise a serial port data publisher module that may take data received from a serial device connected to a serial port of the mobile router and make the data from the serial device available via a TCP stream. In that way, the serial port data publisher module may be used, for example, to populate a remote database with the data from the serial device. That way, the data from the serial device may be remotely accessed via the Internet, for example. In addition, the mobile router can be used to output a received signal from the device connected to its serial interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to the following U.S.provisional applications:

-   -   (1) U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/800,679, filed May        16, 2006, entitled “Mobile Router With Serial Interface,” by        Douglas S. Moeller;    -   (2) U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/800,749, filed May        16, 2006, entitled “Mobile Router That Monitors Links,” by        Douglas S. Moeller; and    -   (3) U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/800,750, filed May        16, 2006, entitled “Mobile Router With Session Proxy,” by        Douglas S. Moeller.

The present application is related to the following,contemporaneously-filed PCT applications:

-   -   (1) PCT application entitled “Mobile Router With Session Proxy,”        by Douglas S. Moeller, Attorney Docket No. 060275PCT; and    -   (2) PCT application entitled “Mobile Router That Monitors        Links,” by Douglas S. Moeller, Attorney Docket No. 060274PCT.

BACKGROUND

Many people use mobile or wireless end-user computer-type devices for avariety of purposes. These devices include smartphones, handheldcomputer-type devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptopcomputers equipped with a wireless network interface card, etc. Usersoften use such devices to read and write email messages, access theInternet, download and view image or video files, run applications, etc.

In order to use such mobile devices, the mobile devices must be able toconnect to a wireless network. Conventional wireless local area networks(WLANs) are often deployed inside structures such as homes, offices,public and commercial buildings, etc. The WLAN typically comprises oneor more wireless access points, such as a wireless router or hot spot,which communicates wirelessly with the mobile device, and allows themobile device to connect to a wired network (or other network) that isalso in communication with the access point. In order to stay connectedto such WLANs, the mobile user must usually stay with the range of theaccess points. This often constrains the effective mobility of awireless user. The mobile user must stay in the home, office or buildingto have wireless access to the WLAN, but if the mobile user leaves thepremises, the mobile user may leave the range of the wireless accesspoints and thereby lose connectivity to the network. For the IEEE 802.11standard, also known as Wi-Fi, the range of such access points is about50 meters for indoor environments and 100 meters for outdoorenvironments.

Some campuses and urban areas provide broader W-Fi coverage areas byplacing a number of cooperating Wi-Fi hot spots throughout the campus orurban area. This provides the mobile user with greater wireless accessas the mobile user generally can move around the campus/urban area whilemaintaining wireless connectivity. However, when the mobile user leavesthe campus/urban area, the user may lose connectivity, thus constrainingthe wireless mobility of the user.

This dilemma has been addressed somewhat by cellular networks that allowmobile devices to communicate wireless data with such cellular networksusing data communication standards, such as GSM/GPRS (Global System forMobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) or EDGE (EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution). Such cellular networks generally providemuch broader coverage areas than WLANs or Wi-Fi area, so a mobile userwill ordinarily have fewer restrictions on mobility when accessing sucha cellular network. Further, cellular networks typically can accommodateroaming users by allowing users to stay connected as they travel fromone cellular network to another.

Nevertheless, mobile end-user devices often experience interruptions inservice due to drop-offs by the network (either Wi-Fi or cellularnetwork). This problem is exacerbated when the user is quickly movingbetween network cells, hot spots or networks. This can be caused, forexample, (i) because the user's wireless access provider/protocol is notcompatible with the new cell, hot spot or network, (ii) because the newcell, hot spot or network is overly congested with traffic, (iii)because of faulty hand-off procedures between the cells, hot spots, ornetworks, or many other reasons.

In addition, a mobile end-user may experience other types of performanceproblems, including a change of bit rate or bandwidth during the datatransmission, and a change in the quality of service (e.g., jitter,latency, data loss, etc.).

Accordingly, there exists a need for a way to alleviate or mitigate theproblems experienced by a user of mobile end-user device.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to a mobilerouter. The mobile router may communication with one or more mobiledevices via a local wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi or Wi-MAX network.The mobile router may further act as a gateway for communications fromthe mobile device to a backhaul network, which also in communicationwith the mobile router via a wireless communication link. The backhaulnetwork may comprise a cellular network, such as a GSM/GPRS or UTMSnetwork, or some other type of wireless network. The backhaul networkmay be connected to the Internet or other network (e.g., WAN). That way,the mobile device can communicate with a destination device connected tothe Internet (or other network) via the mobile router and the backhaulnetwork.

Further, because the mobile router wirelessly communicates with thebackhaul network, it can move with the mobile device as the mobiledevice moves to provide enhanced mobile wireless connectivity for themobile device. For example, the mobile router can be installed, affixedor otherwise placed in a vehicle, such as a car, bus, boat, rail car,etc., where the end user of the mobile device is a passenger (ordriver). That way, the end user can maintain wireless activity as theuser moves about.

According to various embodiments, the mobile router may comprise asession proxy module establishes two transport protocol sessions—onebetween the mobile router and the mobile device, and one between themobile router and a destination device—when the end user seeks tocommunicate with the destination device through the mobile router. Thatway, if the session between the mobile router and a destination devicegoes down, the session between the mobile router and the mobile devicemay remain active, thereby allowing the mobile device to believe thatthe session is still active while the mobile router works to restore thesession. Also, the two sessions may use different protocols. Forexample, the session between the mobile device and the mobile router mayuse the TCP protocol, whereas the session between the mobile router andthe destination device may use a different protocol, such as HS-TCP orSCPS. Moreover, the establishment of the two sessions by the mobilerouter may be transparent to the end user. Also, the end user could havethe option of disabling the session proxy functionality in certainembodiments. This may be desirable when the end user is using anapplication that encrypts the TCP headers.

Another potential benefit is that when the backhaul network goes down,the session proxy module may prevent the TCP session for the link to themobile device 16 from starting its back-off timers. This is advantageousbecause, under the TCP protocol, the mobile device would normally assumethat it cannot forward packets because of network congestion and itwould accordingly start to slow down the user's session. In contrast,with the session proxy module maintaining a session between the mobilerouter and the mobile device that is separate from the session betweenthe mobile router and the backhaul network, the mobile device may notassume that network congestion is a problem and the TCP session betweenmobile router and the mobile device may not slow down. Another potentialbenefit is that the TCP timers and congestion windows can be adjusteddynamically so that the link may be optimized for the particularcharacteristics of the backhaul network (e.g., packet loss, latencyjitter, etc.).

In addition, the mobile router may comprise a session link module thatmonitors the layer 2 and/or layer 3 links of the mobile router with thebackhaul network. That way, when the link monitor module detects adrop-off, the link monitor module can reestablish the link as quickly aspossible in order to minimize the interruption in service to the enduser. According to various embodiments, the link monitor module doesthis by sending and monitoring test (or probing) data packets over thebackhaul wireless communication link. That way, the user does not haveto restart his/her applications or sessions. The user just typicallynotices that the applications/sessions slowed for a brief period of timewhile the connection was being reestablished.

In addition, according to various embodiments, the mobile router mayinclude a serial data port for communicating with a serial data deviceconnected thereto. In addition, the mobile router may include a serialdevice data publication module which transmits data from the serialdevice over the backhaul network to a destination device, such as aserver/database, such that remote users could access the database toretrieve the data from the serial device. The serial device could be,for example, a GPS receiver that records location data for the mobilerouter, or another type of serial data device. In addition, rather thantransmitting the data to a server/database, a remote user could accessthe mobile router to access the data from the serial device directly.Additionally, the serial interface of the mobile router could be used tooutput data/command signals to the connected serial device.

These and other benefits will be apparent from the description tofollow.

FIGURES

Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein by wayof example in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network including a mobile routeraccording to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile router according to variousembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the process flow of the link monitor moduleof the mobile router according to various embodiments of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network 10 according to various embodiments ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the network 10 comprises amobile router 12 in communication with a mobile device 16 via a wirelesscommunication link 14 (referred to sometimes hereinafter as the “localwireless communication link 14”). The wireless communication link 14 maybe provided as part of the wireless network 15 including the mobilerouter 12 and the mobile device 16. The wireless network 15 (referred tosometimes hereinafter as the “local wireless network 15”) may be, forexample, a WiFi network (e.g., IEEE 802.11 network), a WiMAX network(IEEE 802.16), a Bluetooth network, or any other suitable wirelessnetwork.

The mobile device 16 may be any computer-based device capable ofreceiving and transmitting data via the wireless communication link 14.For example, the mobile device 16 may be a laptop (or notebook) computer(as shown in the example of FIG. 1) equipped with a wireless networkinterface card, a wireless-enabled PDA, a pocket or palmtop computer, aWiFi phone (e.g., a Skype phone or VoIP phone), a WiFi appliance, a SonyPlayStation PSP or some other portable, network-enabled gaming station,a video screen, a digital camera, an audio player, a navigation device,a security camera, an alarm device, a wireless payment or POS device,etc.

The mobile router 12, as explained further hereinbelow, may act as agateway between the wireless network 15 and a backhaul network 20. Thebackhaul network 20 in turn may be connected to the Internet 18 or anyother network (such as an intranet or another WAN) via a gateway 24.

The mobile router 12 may communicate with the backhaul network 20 via abackhaul wireless communication link 22 (sometimes referred tohereinafter as the “backhaul wireless communication link”). The backhaulwireless communication link 22 may be provided by a wireless networkthat is part of the backhaul network 20, such as a cellular wirelessnetwork. The cellular wireless network may be, for example: a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS)link; a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) link; a CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) link; an Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO) link; an Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) link; a3GSM link; a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) link; aDigital AMPS (IS-136/TDMA) link; an Integrated Digital Enhanced Link(iDEN) link; a WiMAX link; or any other suitable wireless link. Thatway, the mobile router 12 may provide wireless access for the mobiledevice 16 to the Internet 18 (or other desired network).

According to various embodiments, the mobile router 12 and the mobiledevice 16 are co-located in a moving vehicle so that mobile router 12 ismobile and so that end-users of the mobile device 16 can enjoy wirelessconnectivity to the Internet 18 via the mobile router 12 as the vehicle(not shown) moves through cells or nodes associated with the wirelessnetwork 22. The moving vehicle could be, for example, a car, a truck, abus, a boat, a train or rail car, etc. The mobile router 12 may bemounted to the vehicle in a secure and generally tamper-resistantlocation. For example, the mobile router 12 may be mounted in the trunkof an automobile, and the end-user of the mobile device 16 may be apassenger or driver of the automobile. That way, the end-user couldenjoy wireless connectivity as the automobile moves between cells of thewireless network 22.

Also, although only one mobile device 16 is shown in communication withthe mobile router 12 in FIG. 1, it should be noted that numerous mobiledevices 16 may be in communication with the mobile router 12 via thenetwork 14. For example, in a scenario where the mobile router 12 isrouted in an automobile, more than one passenger may be using anend-user mobile device 16 that communicates with the Internet 18 (orsome other network) via the mobile router 12 and the backhaul network20. For example, one passenger could be checking email on a palmtopcomputer device, while another passenger may be surfing the World WideWeb, etc.

It should also be recognized, however, that the mobile router 12 doesnot necessarily need to be installed in, affixed to, or otherwise placedin a mobile vehicle. For example, a user could use the mobile router 12at home, work, or any other stationary location, or carry the mobilerouter 12 around with him/her.

As shown in FIG. 1, a transceiver 30 may receive and transmit thewireless signals to the mobile router 12 via the wireless communicationlink 22. A communication network 32 of the backhaul network 20 maycommunicate with the Internet 18 (or other network) via one or moregateways 24. The communication network 32 may include conventionalnetwork elements such as servers, routers, switch, etc., and may providewireless network service for the mobile router 12. Of course, althoughonly one transceiver 30 is shown in FIG. 1, it should be recognized thatthe backhaul network 20 may comprise a number of such transceivers,located in different areas serviced by the backhaul network 20, suchthat the mobile router 12 may stay in communication with the backhaulnetwork 20 as the mobile router 12 moves between cells or nodes of thebackhaul network 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, third party servers 26 may be in communication withthe Internet (or other network) 18. That way, the mobile device 16 canaccess the third party servers 26 through the mobile router 12 and thebackhaul network 20.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of the mobile router 12 accordingto various embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, themobile router 12 may comprise one or more processors 40, one or morememory units 42, a backhaul network interface 44, and a local networkinterface 46, that may be connected via a system bus 48.

The backhaul network interface 44 is for interfacing with the backhaulnetwork 20. The local network interface 26 for interfacing with thewireless network 15. The type of backhaul network interface 44 maydepend on the types of backhaul wireless communication link 22 used. Forexample, the backhaul interface network 44 may be a GSM/GPRS interface,a UTMS interface, an EDGE interface, a Wi-MAX interface, etc. Similarly,the type of local network interface 46 may depend on the type ofwireless network 15 used. For example, the local network interface 15may be a Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX, or Bluetooth interface.

The processor(s) 40 may execute instruction code stored in the memory42. The memory 42 may be embodied as one or more computer-readablemedia, including Read-Only-Memory (ROM) and/or Random-Access-Memory(RAM). As such, the memory 42 may comprise one or more memory chips,optical memory devices (e.g., CD-ROM), magnetic memory devices (e.g.,disk drives), etc. The memory 42 may include a number of softwaremodules, including a routing module 50, a link monitor module 52, asession proxy module 54 and a serial port data publisher module 56, thatmay be implemented as software code to be executed by the processor(s)using any suitable computer instruction type. The software code may bestored as a series of instructions or commands, or as a program, in thememory 42.

The routing module 50 may include the code for allowing the mobilerouter 12 to route data packets from the wireless network 15 to thebackhaul network 20, and vice versa, as is known in the art. The linkmonitor module 52, as explained further below, may monitor the layer 2(data link or cellular layer) and layer 3 (IP or network layer) links ofthe mobile router 12 with the backhaul network 20 by sending test orprobing data packets. By monitoring the packets, the link monitor module52 can detect if either (or both) of the links fails. That way, themobile router 12 can take appropriate action when one of the linksfails.

According to various embodiments, both the local wireless communicationlink 14 and the backhaul wireless communication link 22 may use the TCP(Transmission Control Protocol) transport protocol for the session layerof the network protocols. TCP is one of the core protocols of theInternet protocol suite, often simply referred to as “TCP/IP.” UsingTCP, applications on networked hosts can create connections to oneanother, over which they can exchange streams of data using streamsockets. Stream sockets are a type of internet socket which provides aconnection-oriented, sequenced, and unduplicated flow of data withoutrecord boundaries. The TCP protocol guarantees reliable and in-orderdelivery of data from sender to receiver.

The TCP protocol also uses a network congestion avoidance algorithm inorder to achieve congestion avoidance. A number of such algorithmsexists and can be used. In general, according to some algorithms, theTCP protocol specifies a maximum segment size (MSS). The sendermaintains a congestion window, limiting the total number ofunacknowledged packets that may be in transit end-to-end. To avoidcongestion collapse, TCP makes a slow start when the connection isinitialized and after a timeout. It starts with a window of 2 MSS.Although the initial rate is low, the rate of increase is very rapid:for every packet ACKed, the congestion window increases by 1 MSS so thatfor every round trip time, the congestion window has doubled. When thecongestion window exceeds a threshold, or a packet is lost, thealgorithm enters a new state, called congestion avoidance. As long asnon-duplicate ACKs are received, the congestion window is additivelyincreased by one MSS every round trip time. When a packet is lost,duplicate ACKs will be received. The congestion window is reduced to 1MSS on a timeout event.

The session proxy module 54, as explained further below, may act as aTCP proxy for all TCP sessions going through the mobile router 12. Thatway, according to various embodiments as described below, all end-usertraffic between the end-user mobile device 16 and the destination (e.g.,a server connected to the Internet or other network 18) may betransparently routed through the mobile router 12. Of course, in otherembodiments, the local and backhaul wireless links 14, 22 may use adifferent transport protocol, and, in such embodiments, the the sessionproxy module 54 may similarly act as a proxy for such other transportprotocol sessions.

The serial port data publisher module 56 may make data received from aserial device 36, connected to a serial port 38 of the mobile router 12,available from the mobile router 12 via a TCP stream (or any other typeof data stream available from the mobile router 12).

Other, conventional components of a router, such as a memory controller,are not illustrated in FIG. 2 for the sake of convenience.

As mentioned before, the link monitor module 52 may monitor the mobilerouter's layer 2 (data link or cellular layer) and layer 3 (IP ornetwork layer) links with the backhaul network 20. That way, when thelink monitor module 52 detects a drop-off, the link monitor module 52can reestablish the link as quickly as possible in order to minimize theinterruption in service to the end user. For example, in typicalpresent-day mobile computing scenarios, when the network drops off, theend-user's applications and network sessions are ordinarily terminated.Consequently, the user has to restart the applications and/or sessionwhen the network connection is reestablished. Moreover, it typically isnot predictable when the network connection will be reestablished.

The link monitor module 52 overcomes these drawbacks by monitoring thelayer 2 and 3 links, and reestablishing the connections whenconnectivity is lost. As explained in more detail below, the linkmonitor module 52 may do this by sending and monitoring test (orprobing) data packets over the backhaul wireless communication link 22.When it detects a failure in one or both of the links, the link monitormodule 52 can take remedial action, such as attempting to reestablishthe link. It may reestablish the link before applications on the mobiledevice 16 have to be restarted. That way, the user does not have torestart his/her applications or sessions. The user just typicallynotices that the applications/sessions slowed for a brief period of timewhile the connection was being reestablished.

The link monitor module 52 may utilize adaptive programming according tovarious embodiments. That is, for example, if the backhaul networkinterface 44 is receiving packets over the backhaul wirelesscommunication link 22, the link monitor module 52 may send less probingpackets and, conversely, if the interface 44 is not receiving packetsthe link monitor module 52 may send more probing packets. By monitoringpackets coming in on the interface 44, the link monitor module 52 maydraw the assumption that the interface is functioning. This means thatthe link monitor module 52 does not have to send test packets across thebackhaul wireless communication link 22 to verify connectivity (andhence not wasting precious network resources). However, just because thelink monitor module 52 may assume that the interface 44 is functioningdoes not mean that the link monitor module 52 does not send testpackets; it may just send them less frequently in certain embodiments.

The link monitor module 52 may monitor the interface 44 to see if it isreceiving data packets. If it is not, then the link monitor module 52may sleep “A” number of seconds and then proceed to the next step ofdoing an active probe. If the interface 44 is receiving packets, thelink monitor module 52 may then sleep longer (e.g., 10×A seconds) beforeit proceeds to the next step of doing an active probe. So if thebackhaul wireless communication link 22 looks like it is working, thenthe link monitor module 52 may send fewer active probes on the backhaulnetwork 20.

The remote devices that the link monitor module 52 is to monitor may beconfigured to allow the link monitor module 52 to ensure whether thelink to the particular remote device is available. For example, links tothe default route, domain name server (DNS), and/or authenticationserver 19 (see FIG. 1) may be monitored, as well as any device otherdevice on the Internet so configured.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the process flow of the link monitor module 52according to various embodiments of the present invention. This processmay be continually running in the background to monitor the layer 2 andlayer 3 links on the backhaul wireless communication link 22 of themobile router 12.

At block 80, the link monitor module 52 may determine what its backhaulnetwork 20 is (e.g. whether it is a GSM/GPRS network interface, a UTMSnetwork interface, etc.). Next, at block 82, the link monitor module 52may determine if the appropriate backhaul network driver is loaded. Ifnot, at block 96, the driver is reloaded and, if successful, the processreturns to block 92 (described further below). If at block 82 it isdetermined that the driver is loaded, the process advances to block 84,where the link monitor module 52 determines whether packets are beingreceived on the backhaul network interface 44. This is a check of itslayer 3—or network layer—status (OCI Model). If so, the process advancesto block 86, where the link monitor module 52 goes into sleep mode for abrief period of time (xx seconds) because the network connection isactive.

If at block 84 it is determined that packets are not being received overthe backhaul wireless connection 22, the process advances to block 88,where the link monitor module 52 may determine if the layer 2, or datalink layer, is established with a particular remote device (e.g., adevice that is part of the communications network 32 or connected to theInternet 18). In one embodiment, the point-to-point protocol (“PPP”) maybe used for the layer 2 link (OCI Model). PPP is a protocol used toestablish a direct connection between two nodes and is described bydescribed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 1661. Thus, atblock 88, the link monitor module 52 may determine of the PPP link isestablished. Of course, in other embodiment, a different direct linkprotocol could be used.

If the PPP link is not established, the process may advance to block 92,where the PPP is restarted to establish the PPP link to the remotedevice. If that operation is successful, or if at block 88 it isdetermined that the PPP link is established, the process advances toblock 90 where the link monitor module 52 determines if it has a defaultroute to the remote device. In routing technology, a default route, alsosometimes called a “gateway of last resort,” is the network route usedby a router when no other known route exists for a given data packet'sdestination address. All the packets for destinations not known by therouter's routing table are sent to the default route. This routegenerally leads to another router, which treats the packet the same way.If the route is known, the packet will get forwarded to the known route.If not, the packet is forwarded to the default-route of the router whichgenerally leads to another router, and so on. Once the router with aknown route to a host destination is reached, the router determineswhich route is valid by finding the most specific match. The networkwith the longest subnet mask that matches the destination IP addresswins.

Hence, the default route may be a connection to the remote device thatis different from the direct connection. If there is a default route,the process may advance to block 94, where the link monitor module 52may determine whether the remote device is reachable via the defaultroute. If, at block 90 it is determined that there is no default route,the process may return to block 88 where the PPP link is attempted to beestablished.

The process also advances to block 90 from block 86 after the briefsleep period. If at block 90 it is determined that the mobile router 12has a default route, the process advances to block 94 where the linkmonitor module 52 determines if the default route is reachable. If thedefault route is not reachable, the process returns to block 88, whereinthe PPP link is attempted to be reestablished.

If at block 92 the PPP protocol is unable to be restarted after x numberof attempts, the process advances to block 96, where the card driver forthe backhaul network interface 44 is reloaded. If at block 66 the carddriver is not successfully loaded after a number (“x”) of attempts, theprocess advances to block 98, where the link monitor module 52 attemptsto reload the CardBus driver (or other similar driver for mobile routersthat do not use CardBus). A CardBus is PCMCIA (Personal Computer MemoryCard International Association) 5.0 or later (e.g., JEIDA 4.2 or later)32-bit PCMCIA card. CardBus is effectively a 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus in the PC card form factor.CardBus includes bus mastering, which allows a controller on the bus totalk to other devices or memory without going through the CPU.

If that process is successful, the process returns to block 96, wherethe card driver is again attempted to be reloaded. If at block 98attempts are unsuccessful in reloading the CardBus driver (or othersimilar driver), the process, according to various embodiments, advancesto block 100, wherein the mobile router 12 is rebooted. From there, theprocess may return back to block 80.

Returning to block 94, where it is determined if the default route isreachable, if it is not available, the process may advance, according tovarious embodiments, to block 102, where the domain name server (DNS)for the mobile router is determined. Then, at block 104, it isdetermined whether the DNS is reachable. If it is, according to variousembodiments, at block 106, the authentication server 19 (see FIG. 1) forthe mobile router 12 is determined. Then, at block 108, it is determinedwhether the authentication server 19 is reachable. If so, the processadvances to block 110, where the link monitor module 52 enters briefsleep mode, during which no test packets are sent. After the briefsleep, the process returns to block 84 for a re-check of the layer 3link.

If the DNS server is not reachable at block 104 or if the authenticationserver is not reachable at block 108, the process returns to block 88,where the PPP link (layer 2 link) is assessed, as explained above.

Some parameters in the process may be configurable. For example, certaintime periods used by the various timers may be configurable. Theparameters may be factory configurable, remotely configurable over anetwork, and/or self-adapting. In addition, in various embodiments, theuser may be able to configure certain parameters.

In addition, the process can be fine-tuned and optimized for aparticular backhaul network and/or usage pattern. The objective of thetuning and optimization may be to deliver the highest data throughput,fastest network drop-off detections, and fastest network reconnection.For example, the targets being probed can be changed. For example, themobile router 12 may probe the session manager 29 in a networkoperations center (NOC) 30 (see FIG. 1), or other devices connected tothe network 18. Also, rather than active probing, the mobile router 12may only listen to the backhaul network interface 44. This latterapproach may be advantageous when the network 18 is a WAN (or other typeof network) with low bandwidth.

The point-to-point protocol (“PPP”) startup script may executecontinuously until it makes a successful connection. The failure that isshown in FIG. 3 at block 88 is if the PPP startup script is notsuccessful in communicating with the backhaul network card x number oftimes. If the PPP startup script cannot make a connection it likely isbecause the mobile router 12 is out of coverage and not because it orthe network failed. However, if PPP connection is unable to beestablished after a relatively long duration (e.g., over one hour), thelink monitor module 52 may proceed with the failure path (step 92).

A common problem experienced in the prior art by cellular network usersis that the data connection is sometimes lost. When this occurs,applications running on the mobile device (that is connected to thecellular network) stop running, and have to be restarted when the TCPsession is re-established.

This problem can be overcome by the session proxy module 54 of themobile router 12. Returning to FIG. 2, the session proxy module 54 mayact as a session proxy for all sessions (e.g., TCP sessions) goingthrough the mobile router 12. That is, for example, when a localend-user seeks to establish a TCP session from their local end-userdevice (such as the mobile device 14 FIG. 1) with a destination (such asa third party server 26 connected to the network 18, see FIG. 1), thesession proxy module 54 may terminate the TCP session coming from themobile device 16 and, instead, establish a TCP (or some other protocol)session on the backhaul network interface 26 with the destination 26.The mobile router 12 may also maintain a separate TCP session with themobile device 16 over the local wireless communication link 14. Thatway, all end-user traffic between the end-user and the destination maybe transparently routed through the mobile router 12 on the two separatesessions. That way, one session going down (such as the backhaulwireless communication link 22) need not negatively affect the othersession (such as the session between the mobile router 22 and the mobiledevice 16).

By doing this, several benefits may be achieved. For example, when thebackhaul network link 22 goes down (which is sometimes not uncommon forcellular networks), the session proxy module 54 can maintain a TCPsession to the local end user (e.g., at the mobile device 16). That way,if applications running on the mobile device 16 are dependent upon a TCPsession, the applications may continue to run because there is a TCPsession with the mobile router 12, even though the TCP session over thebackhaul wireless communication link 22 is lost. When the backhaulnetwork communication link 22 comes back, the end-user may be able tokeep running its applications and session without having to restart theapplications.

Another potential benefit is that when the backhaul network link 22 goesdown, the session proxy module 54 can prevent the TCP session for thelink to the mobile device 16 from starting its back-off timers. This isadvantageous because, under the TCP protocol, the mobile device 16 wouldnormally assume that it cannot forward packets because of networkcongestion and it would accordingly start to slow down the user'ssession. In contrast, with the session proxy module 54 maintaining a TCPsession between the mobile router 12 and the mobile device 16, themobile 16 device would not assume that network congestion is a problemand the TCP session between mobile router 12 and the mobile device 16the should not slow down.

Another potential benefit is that the TCP timers and congestion windowscan be adjusted dynamically so that the link is optimized for theparticular characteristics of the backhaul network (e.g., packet loss,latency jitter, etc.). For example, if the network has a high packetloss, the MTU (maximum transmission unit) may be made smaller toincrease the likelihood that sent data packets will successfully reachtheir destination. “MTU” refers to the size (in bytes) of the largestdata packet that a given layer of a communications protocol can passonwards. Alternatively, if the network has relatively little packet lossand high throughput, the MTU may be increased so as to further increasethroughput.

In another embodiment, instead of a TCP session, the session proxymodule 54 could establish a different type of protocol session with theuser's destination that is designed to run over high latency links. Suchhigh-latency links may be HS-TCP (High Speed TCP) or SCPS (SpaceCommunications Protocol Specifications). HS-TCP uses a new congestioncontrol algorithm for TCP that is described in RFC 3649. The SCPS is setof extensions to existing protocols and new protocols developed by theConsultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). The SCPS protocolis defined in ISO Standards 15894 (file transfer), 15893 (transportlayer), 15892 (security layer) and 15891 (network layer).

In such an embodiment, therefore, there may be a TCP session between themobile device 16 and the mobile router 12 over the local wirelesscommunication link 14, and a separate high latency protocol session(e.g., HS-TCP or SCPS) between the mobile router 12 and the destinationover the backhaul network 20. Moreover, the establishment of thehigh-latency link on the backhaul network 20 may be done transparentlyto the local end-user by the session proxy module 54.

In addition, in various embodiments, the local end-user could be giventhe option of disabling the session proxy module 54. A user of themobile device 16 may disable the session proxy module 54, for example,through a control panel for the mobile router 12 displayed on the mobiledevice. Also, the mobile router 12 may have a switch or push-button thatallows a user to disable the session proxy module 54. It may bedesirable for a user to disable the session proxy module 54 when theuser wants to maintain a TCP session with the destination. For example,certain types of virtual private networks (VPNs), such as IPSEC VPNs,encrypt the TCP headers. IPSEC (IP security) is a suite of protocols forsecuring Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and/orencrypting each IP packet in a data stream. If the TCP headers wereencrypted, the session proxy module 54 would ordinarily not be able todecrypt the headers of the TCP data packets and, therefore, could notappropriately transmit the packets on a non-TCP session. In such acircumstance, the user may desire to disable the session proxy module54. Other types of VPNs, however, such as secure sockets layer (SSL)VPNs, do not encrypt the TCP headers, so the local end-user may not wantor need to disable the session proxy module 54 when such a SSL VPN isbeing used.

Referring to FIG. 2, the serial port data publisher module 56 may takedata received from the serial device 36 connected to the serial port 38of the mobile router 12 and make the data available via a TCP stream (orsome other type of data stream, such as HS-TCP or SCPS data stream). Theserial port data publisher module 56 and, via the backhaul network 20and Internet 18, populate a remote database 25 with the data from thedevice 36. That way, the data from the serial device 36 can be remotelyaccessed via the Internet 18.

The serial device 36 may communicate with the mobile router 12 using anysuitable serial data protocol, including the USB (Universal Serial Bus)standard, the RS-232 standard, the RS-485 standard, or the IEEE 1394(FireWire) standard, for example.

The serial device 36 may be any suitable type of serial device, such as,for example, a GPS receiver. In an embodiment where the serial device 36is a GPS receiver, this allows the location data for the GPS receiver(and hence the location data for the mobile router 12) to be remotelyaccessible by others. In an application where the mobile router 12 isinstalled in a mobile vehicle such as a car or truck, such location datacould be used for a variety of applications, including:

-   -   a company could access the database 25 to determine the current        location of its vehicles;    -   a company could determine and analyze where its vehicles have        been, including such things as determining time spent in traffic        jams, loading docks, etc.;    -   track a stolen vehicle;    -   determining optimal routes for delivery companies;    -   collection of real-time traffic data, which can be analyzed        and/or shared with traffic condition publication services; or    -   collection of historical traffic data, which could be used for        traffic planning purposes.

In various embodiments, the stream produced by the serial port datapublisher module 56 may be compliant with a protocol standard, such asthe RFC 2217 “Telnet Com Port Control Option” protocol, so that end-userdevices that support the standard could use the data. This may be usefulfor Windows-based computers, because such computers could use standard,off-the-shelf mapping applications with a GPS device to be attached tothe local machine. The end-user could install a RFC 2217 compliantdriver on their Windows computer and could make the GPS data from themobile router 12 appear as local GPS data on their Windows computer. Andsince the GPS data from the mobile router 12 would be accessible over anIP network (e.g., the Internet 18), the remote user's Windows computercould access the data from anywhere on the Internet.

The above-described examples were based on a GPS device as the serialdevice 36 connected to the mobile router 12. It should be recognizedthat other types of serial data devices 36 may be used and similar datapublication processes could be used for such serial data devices so thatthe data from the serial device may be accessed via the Internet (orother network) 18. For example, in other embodiments the serial device36 may be a vehicle telematics device. Such a vehicle telematics devicemay capture data regarding the performance and operation of the vehicle(e.g., diagnostic data) in which the device is installed. Such data maythen be published by the mobile router 12 and stored in the database 25,for example, such that it is accessible by third parties via theInternet 18.

In another embodiment, the serial device 36 may be a point-of-sale (POS)device that captures sale or payment information. That way, the POS datamay be published to the database 25 such that it is accessible via theInternet 18.

In other embodiments, the serial data device 36 could be, for example, aremote control for an in-car entertainment system (e.g., downloadingmusic, video, games, etc., to third party systems) or a device forinterfacing to existing communication systems (e.g., police radios,etc.).

In addition, rather than transmitting the data to a central server(e.g., database 25), a remote user could access the mobile router 12 toaccess the data from the serial device 36 directly. For example, in oneembodiment, an authenticated remote user could access an authenticationserver 23 (see FIG. 1) to determine the address of the mobile router 12.The remote user could then use that address to communicate with themobile router 12 directly. Similarly, a local end-user of the mobilerouter 12 could access the data from the serial device via the localwireless network 14.

Additionally, according to various embodiments, the serial interface 38of the mobile router 12 can be used to output data/command signals tothe connected serial device 36. For example, from a remote location asignal/message can be sent to the mobile router 12 in order to have thesignal/message sent output by the serial port 38 to the serial device,where the signal/message causes the serial device 36 to take some sortof action. For instance, the signal/message may activate the serialdevice 36. For example, where the mobile router 12 is installed in acar, the serial device 36 may be device capable of controllingcomponents and/or systems of the car. For example, the serial device 36may be able to shut of the engine (such as in the case of theft), unlockthe doors in case of inadvertent locking, activate alarm functions, etc.The serial device 36 may also, according to various embodiments, performpayment functions, download data, receive advertising, entertainment,gaming, and/or information, as well as perform network management andcontrol.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein, it should be recognized that other modifications, substitutionsand alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.For example, certain of the steps of FIG. 3 may be performed indifferent order or simultaneously. Such modifications, substitutions andalternatives can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

1. A mobile router comprising: a local network interface for wirelesslycommunicating with a mobile device via a local wireless network; abackhaul network interface for wirelessly communicating with a backhaulnetwork; one or more processors; a serial data device interface forcommunicating with a serial data device connected to the interface; anda memory in communication with the one or more processors and the serialdata device interface, wherein the memory stores instructions which,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to transmit data received from the serial data device overthe backhaul network to a destination device.
 2. The mobile router ofclaim 1, wherein: the serial data device connected to the serial datadevice interface comprises a GPS receiver; and the data transmitted bythe mobile router over the backhaul network to the destination devicecomprises location data from the GPS receiver.
 3. The mobile router ofclaim 1, wherein the serial data device comprises a serial data deviceselected from the group consisting of a GPS receiver, a vehicletelematics device, a point-of-sale (POS) device, and a remote control.4. The mobile router of claim 1, wherein the memory additionally storesinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: monitor the layer 2 and layer 3 links ofthe mobile router for the backhaul network; and reestablish the networkconnection to the backhaul network when a failure of the layer 2 and/orlayer 3 link is detected.
 5. The mobile router of claim 4, wherein thememory stores instructions which, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to monitor the layer 2 andlayer 3 links by sending test packets to a destination device over thebackhaul network.
 6. The mobile router of claim 5, wherein the memorystores instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to adapt the frequency at which testpackets are sent to the destination device based on whether the networkconnection to the backhaul network is active.
 7. The mobile router ofclaim 6, wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to sendtest packets to the destination device less frequently when the networkconnection to the backhaul network is active.
 8. The mobile router ofclaim 1, wherein the memory additionally stores instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto: detect an attempt by the mobile device to establish a transportprotocol session between the mobile device and a destination devicethrough the mobile router over the local wireless network and thebackhaul network; and initiate, when the attempt to establish theprotocol session is detected, a first replacement transport protocolsession between the mobile router and the mobile device over the localwireless network and a second replacement transport protocol sessionbetween the mobile router and the destination device over the backhaulnetwork.
 9. The mobile router of claim 7, wherein the memoryadditionally stores instructions which, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to: detect an attempt bythe mobile device to establish a transport protocol session between themobile device and a destination device through the mobile router overthe local wireless network and the backhaul network; and initiate, whenthe attempt to establish the protocol session is detected, a firstreplacement transport protocol session between the mobile router and themobile device over the local wireless network and a second replacementtransport protocol session between the mobile router and the destinationdevice over the backhaul network.
 10. The mobile router of claim 1,wherein the local wireless network comprises a Wi-Fi network.
 11. Themobile router of claim 1, wherein the local wireless network comprises aWi-MAX network.
 12. The mobile router of claim 1, wherein the backhaulnetwork comprises a cellular network.
 13. The mobile router of claim 12,wherein the cellular network comprises a GSM/GPRS network.
 14. Themobile router of claim 12, wherein the cellular network comprises a UMTSnetwork.
 15. The mobile router of claim 9, wherein the backhaul networkcomprises a cellular network.
 16. The mobile router of claim 15, whereinthe cellular network comprises a GSM/GPRS network.
 17. The mobile routerof claim 15, wherein the cellular network comprises a UMTS network. 18.The mobile router of claim 15, wherein the local wireless networkcomprises a Wi-Fi network.
 19. The mobile router of claim 15, whereinthe local wireless network comprises a Wi-MAX network.
 20. The mobilerouter of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a wireless-enabledcomputer device selected from the group consisting of a laptop equippedwith a wireless network interface card, a wireless-enabled PDA, a pocketcomputer, a WiFi phone, a WiFi appliance, a portable, network-enabledgaming station, a video screen, a digital camera, an audio player, anavigation device, a security camera, an alarm device, a wirelesspayment device, and a wireless POS device.
 21. The mobile router ofclaim 1, wherein the mobile router is installed in a vehicle.
 22. Themobile router of claim 21, wherein the vehicle is a vehicle selectedfrom the group consisting of an automobile, a truck, a rail car, a bus,and a boat.
 23. A method comprising: receiving, by a mobile router froma serial data device that is connected to a serial data device interfaceof the mobile router, data from the serial data device, wherein themobile router is in communication with a mobile device via a localwireless communication link and wherein the mobile router is incommunication with a backhaul network; and transmitting, by the mobilerouter, the serial data received from the serial data device to adestination device over the backhaul network.
 24. The method of claim23, wherein: the serial data device connected to the serial data deviceinterface comprises a GPS receiver; and transmitting the data comprisestransmitting location data from the GPS receiver.
 25. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the serial data device comprises a serial data deviceselected from the group consisting of a GPS receiver, a vehicletelematics device, a point-of-sale (POS) device, and a remote control.26. The method of claim 23, further comprising: monitoring the layer 2and layer 3 links of the mobile router for the backhaul network; andreestablishing the network connection to the backhaul network when afailure of the layer 2 and/or layer 3 link is detected.
 27. The methodof claim 26, wherein monitoring the layer 2 and layer 3 links comprisessending test packets to a destination device over the backhaul network.28. The method of claim 27, further comprising adapting the frequency atwhich test packets are sent to the destination device based on whetherthe network connection to the backhaul network is active.
 29. The methodof claim 28, wherein adapting comprises sending test packets to thedestination device less frequently when the network connection to thebackhaul network is active.
 30. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising: detecting an attempt by the mobile device to establish atransport protocol session between the mobile device and a destinationdevice through the mobile router over the local wireless network and thebackhaul network; and initiating, when the attempt to establish theprotocol session is detected, a first replacement transport protocolsession between the mobile router and the mobile device over the localwireless network and a second replacement transport protocol sessionbetween the mobile router and the destination device over the backhaulnetwork.
 31. The method of claim 29, further comprising: detecting anattempt by the mobile device to establish a transport protocol sessionbetween the mobile device and a destination device through the mobilerouter over the local wireless network and the backhaul network; andinitiating, when the attempt to establish the protocol session isdetected, a first replacement transport protocol session between themobile router and the mobile device over the local wireless network anda second replacement transport protocol session between the mobilerouter and the destination device over the backhaul network.
 32. Themethod of claim 23, wherein the local wireless network comprises a Wi-Finetwork.
 33. The method of claim 23, wherein the local wireless networkcomprises a Wi-MAX network.
 34. The method of claim 23, wherein thebackhaul network comprises a cellular network.
 35. The method of claim34, wherein the cellular network comprises a GSM/GPRS network.
 36. Themethod of claim 34, wherein the cellular network comprises a UMTSnetwork.
 37. The method of claim 31, wherein the backhaul networkcomprises a cellular network.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein thecellular network comprises a GSM/GPRS network.
 39. The method of claim37, wherein the cellular network comprises a UMTS network.
 40. Themethod of claim 37, wherein the local wireless network comprises a Wi-Finetwork.
 41. The method of claim 37, wherein the local wireless networkcomprises a Wi-MAX network.
 42. The method of claim 23, wherein themobile device is a wireless-enabled computer device selected from thegroup consisting of a laptop equipped with a wireless network interfacecard, a wireless-enabled PDA, a pocket computer, a WiFi phone, a WiFiappliance, a portable, network-enabled gaming station, a video screen, adigital camera, an audio player, a navigation device, a security camera,an alarm device, a wireless payment device, and a wireless POS device.43. The method of claim 23, wherein the mobile router is installed in avehicle.
 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the vehicle is a vehicleselected from the group consisting of an automobile, a truck, a railcar, a bus, and a boat.